1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to educational toys which display the letters of the alphabet in sequence, and more particularly to a toy of this type which takes the form of a user-propelled school bus that as it travels in the forward or reverse direction, displays through its windows the letters of the alphabet in their normal sequence.
2. Status of Prior Art
An alphabet is a particular set of letters in a customary order with which one or more languages is written. The modern languages of Western Europe and America use the letters of the Roman alphabet, this being derived from the ancient Greek alphabet which in turn is imitative of the Phoenician alphabet. The letters of the Cyrillic alphabet are used in the Russian language, whereas the Hebrew and Arabic languages have their own alphabets.
While the present invention will be illustrated in conjunction with the letters A to Z, it is to be understood that the educational toy disclosed herein is applicable to any known alphabet and is useful in teaching the letters of the alphabet to young children as part of a play experience.
Before one is able to read and write, one must master the letters of the alphabet. Hence, the earliest step in the educational process is learning the alphabet, and this often takes place before formal schooling begins. Since children of pre-school age learn best when learning is an aspect of a play activity, over the years various toys have been developed to present the letters of the alphabet to a player. The classic toy for teaching the letters of the alphabet is a set of construction play blocks on whose faces are printed various alphabet letters.
The letters of the alphabet have also been associated with rolling toys. Thus, the patent to Van Halder, U.S. Pat. No. 843,642, discloses a wheelbarrow toy in which the letters of the alphabet are printed on an endless tape which is drawn across a display window so that as the toy is rolled, the letters appear in succession. Similarly, in the Ward U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,255, the letters of the alphabet are printed on a continuous tape moving behind a display window. In the wheeled toy shown in the Webb U.S. Pat. No. 311,215, the letters of the alphabet are carried on separate cards that are presented in succession as the toy is rolled.
It is also known, as in the patent to Kingston, U.S. Pat. No. 2,401,937, to provide a toy school bus having a top window through which are displayed different scenes carried on a continuous tape. In the Schartz U.S. Pat. No. 2,326,297, a pull toy is provided having an inner cylinder having pictures therein with overlapping ruled lines. The inner cylinder fits within an outer transparent cylinder having ruled lines. As the inner cylinder rotates relative to the outer cylinder, the pictures then appear to be animated because of the shuttering action produced by the ruled lines.